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- Sjögren, Jörgen
(författare)
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Concept Formation in Mathematics
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis consists of three overlapping parts, where the first one centers around the possibility of defining a measure of the power of arithmetical theories. In this part a partial measure of the power of arithmetical theories is constructed, where “power” is understood as capability to prove theorems. It is also shown that other suggestions in the literature for such a measure do not satisfy natural conditions on a measure. In the second part a theory of concept formation in mathematics is developed. This is inspired by Aristotle’s conception of mathematical objects as abstractions, and it uses Carnap’s method of explication as a means to formulate these abstractions in an ontologically neutral way. Finally, in the third part some problems of philosophy of mathematics are discussed. In the light of this idea of concept formation it is discussed how the relation between formal and informal proof can be understood, how mathematical theories are tested, how to characterize mathematics, and some questions about realism and indispensability.
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- Ahlström, Kristoffer, 1980
(författare)
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Constructive Analysis : A Study in Epistemological Methodology
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the present study, it is argued that much of contemporary epistemology has not been conducted in a way conducive to what should be one of its main goals, namely to guide epistemic inquiry in the attainment of our most central epistemic goals. Furthermore, it is claimed that the very reason that epistemology has failed to do so pertains to an entrenched?indeed, in a sense, a literally ancient?but implausible methodology, best understood as the pursuit of definitions by way of intuitions. More specifically, the present study not only (a) argues that we ought to revise this methodology and (b) puts forward an alternative, but also (c) demonstrates the usefulness of this alternative methodology within the analysis of epistemic justification. With respect to the latter, it is first argued that some of the most influential theories fail and that our concept of justification?considering the goals of epistemic inquiry?is best reconstructed in terms of truth-conductivity, and then, through a discussion of psychological research relevant to reasoning strategies, shown how such a reconstructed concept may be used to improve on actual truth-seeking inquiry.
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- Almér, Alexander, 1967
(författare)
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Naturalising Intentionality : Inquiries into Realism & Relativism
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Cognitive scientists, linguists and philosophers have expressed hope that mental and linguistic content (aboutness) eventually will be explained in broadly natural scientific terms. This dissertation investigates certain problems pertaining to attempts to naturalise mental aboutness and related semantic concepts like reference and truth. The first chapter introduces some traditional conceptions of aboutness, and traces methodological and metaphysical presuppositions behind these proposals. Chapter two investigates some aspects of the notion of naturalisation. It argues that we have no compelling reasons to assume global naturalism, yet that there are good reasons to seek a natural explanation of certain semantic properties, like reference and truth. Two prominent attempts to naturalise semantic properties are briefly introduced, Millikan’s evolutionary perspective and Fodor’s information-theoretic view. Chapter three deals with an important objection put forth by Putnam against naturalistic realism, that is, the theory that there is a mind-independent world being the explanatory target for the natural sciences. I argue that Putnam’s objection can be met by a certain version of naturalism. This chapter also begins a discussion of relativism about truth, which is continued in chapter four. Chapters four and five mainly deal with some recent problems in the philosophy of language associated to the question where the line between pragmatic and semantic contribution to communicative content is to be drawn. Chapter five brings out some consequences of applying a particular naturalistic notion of linguistic convention when distinguishing between semantic and pragmatic linguistic content.
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- Andersson, Alexander, 1991
(författare)
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Giving Executives Their Due: Just Pay, Desert, and Equality
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Before, during, and after the global financial crisis of 2008, executive pay practices were widely debated and criticized. Economists, philosophers, as well as the man on the street all seem to have strong feelings towards how much, in what ways, and on what grounds executives are paid. This thesis asks whether it is possible to morally justify current executive pay practices and, if so, on what grounds they are justified. It questions those who find no quarrel with pay practices due to their minimally moralized view of the market and – perhaps more importantly – it asks for a sophisticated critique from those who criticize current pay practices. The discussion on just pay is clearly one of distributive justice. One reason for why some people consider CEO pay practices to be (fairly) unproblematic while others find them objectionable stems from the availability of different understandings of, and principles for, just pay. We tend to associate justice in pay with such things as proper incentivization, being the outcome of a fair procedure, being deserved on the basis of effort or contribution, and/or satisfying the ideal of equality. Parts of this thesis are devoted to these different understandings and what they entail for the moral justification of CEO pay. Another reason for the conflicting views on CEO pay stems from how issues of justice go beyond the confines of economics and applied ethics, extending all the way into the domain of political philosophy. Parts of this thesis explore this connection, in particular how the concept of economic desert relates to the broader concept of moral desert. Lastly, I discuss the criticism that the superrich (including executives) are being paid too much and are in possession of too much wealth. The issue at hand here is how to morally justify the interventions that seem suitable to rectify the situation.
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- Behdadi, Dorna, 1988
(författare)
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Nonhuman Moral Agency: A Practice-Focused Exploration of Moral Agency in Nonhuman Animals and Artificial Intelligence
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Can nonhuman animals and artificial intelligence (AI) entities be attributed moral agency? The general assumption in the philosophical literature is that moral agency applies exclusively to humans since they alone possess free will or capacities required for deliberate reflection. Consequently, only humans have been taken to be eligible for ascriptions of moral responsibility in terms of, for instance, blame or praise, moral criticism, or attributions of vice and virtue. Animals and machines may cause harm, but they cannot be appropriately ascribed moral responsibility for their behavior. This thesis challenges the conventional paradigm by proposing an alternative approach where moral agency is conceived as the competence to participate in moral responsibility practices. By shifting focus from intra-individual to contextual and socially situated features, this practice-focused approach appears to make the attribution of moral agency to nonhuman animals and AI entities more plausible than commonly assumed. Moreover, considering the current and potential future prevalence of nonhuman animals and AI entities in everyday settings and social contexts, a potential extension of moral agency to such entities could very well transform our social, moral, and legal practices. Hence, this thesis proposes that the attribution or withholding of moral agency to different entities should be carefully evaluated, considering the potential normative implications.
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- Berndtsson, Inger, 1957
(författare)
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Förskjutna horisonter. Livsförändring och lärande i samband med synnedsättning eller blindhet
- 2001
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study is an investigation of life-worlds of severely visually impaired and blind adults. The aim is to understand changes which people undergo when struck by severe visual impairment or blindness, focusing on how people learn to handle their changed life situation. The following questions are addressed: How does visual impairment change a person’s life? How does blindness affect the continuation of life? How do people handle this situation? What characterises learning in relation to blindness? What does it mean to henceforth live with blindness in society? A qualitative study has been performed with eight adults, four men and four women. The research is grounded in the concept of the life-world, which means the world in which we live our daily lives, a world usually taken for granted. Information have been gathered through interviews, life story interviews and participant observation. The data have been analysed with an interpretative approach. The study points out that learning processes are related to the participants’ respective life-worlds and their lived experiences of being visually impaired or blind. Being blind often means a break in a person’s life, dividing life into before and after blindness. This break is interpreted as changed relations to the world in relation to time, the physical surroundings, relations to other people (intersubjectivity), and the performance of activities, all including a changed identity. Learning processes are then interpreted as re-establishing the relations to the world and focus both on re-learning previously well-known activities and learning completely new activities, i.e. the white cane technique. Learning in relation to visual impairment or blindness is further described as a lived learning grounded in the life-world and the person’s lived experiences, including dimensions of body-situated learning, social learning and reflective learning. Learning processes also comprise the concepts of horizon and the intentional arc. When a person has re-established relations to the different dimensions of the life-world, learning is temporarily seen as finished. However, social learning will continue throughout life. In discussing the various dimensions of life-changing processes and learning, the following concepts are used: the body of time, physical body, the body of activity and social body. Finally, some pedagogical implications for re-/habilitation work and counseling are discussed.
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- Blanck, Rasmus, 1982
(författare)
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Contributions to the Metamathematics of Arithmetic: Fixed Points, Independence, and Flexibility
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis concerns the incompleteness phenomenon of first-order arithmetic: no consistent, r.e. theory T can prove every true arithmetical sentence. The first incompleteness result is due to Gödel; classic generalisations are due to Rosser, Feferman, Mostowski, and Kripke. All these results can be proved using self-referential statements in the form of provable fixed points. Chapter 3 studies sets of fixed points; the main result is that disjoint such sets are creative. Hierarchical generalisations are considered, as well as the algebraic properties of a certain collection of bounded sets of fixed points. Chapter 4 is a systematic study of independent and flexible formulae, and variations thereof, with a focus on gauging the amount of induction needed to prove their existence. Hierarchical generalisations of classic results are given by adapting a method of Kripke’s. Chapter 5 deals with end-extensions of models of fragments of arithmetic, and their relation to flexible formulae. Chapter 6 gives Orey-Hájek-like characterisations of partial conservativity over different kinds of theories. Of particular note is a characterisation of partial conservativity over IΣ₁. Chapter 7 investigates the possibility to generalise the notion of flexibility in the spirit of Feferman’s theorem on the ‘interpretability of inconsistency’. Partial results are given by using Solovay functions to extend a recent theorem of Woodin.
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